About Us

The Border Artists were conceived in 1990 as a way of increasing visibility and recognition for the work of a group of fine artists in southern New Mexico. After finding considerable success, the group organized as a non-profit artists' association in 1995.

The group, consisting of 20 active members and several Signature members, includes painters, ceramic sculptors, potters, stone sculptors, photographers, printmakers, and mixed media artists. The members are residents of southern New Mexico and El Paso, Texas. Membership is by invitation.

Because the arts are integral to the cultural life of a community, the Border Artists are committed to creating artwork of the highest standards and sharing this through exhibitions and educational events. Our exhibitions are often fundraisers for other local not for profit groups, and we award several artistic scholarships for high school and university every year.

The Border Artists are made up of 20 regular members, and several 'Signature' members, each working in their own mediums and actively creating new work. Our members are highly accomplished artists invited to join our organization based on their achievements and reputation.

President: David D. Sorensen

Vice President: Terry Wolfe

Treasurer: Amanda Jaffe

Secretary: Patricia Dunn

Artist Biography

Born in Amsterdam, The Netherlands in 1956, Roy van der Aa grew up in Montreal Canada. His Formal education includes 2 years of Fine Art Speciality at John Abbott College and 3 years at Concordia University Studying Printmaking and Archaeology. He moved to the US in 1989.

Roy has had over 140 solo, two-person and group showsThroughout the Southwest United States and Quebec. His work can be seen at RioBravoFineArts in Truth or Consequences and his own gallery, Aa Studios in Las Cruces. He has also shown in Carrizozo, Tularosa, Socorro, Santa Fe, Albuquerque and El Paso.

Artist Statement

Roy has been producing painted collages in three sizes since 2017. They are his way of reimagining landscape painting by taking photographs, collaging them and painting prints of the collages in series of four. These give a sense of neighborhoods in motion.

He has been printmaking in various forms since college. Since 2026, he has been making “pochoir” or stencil prints in small editions. These combine collage and photo manipulation with flat colors. Pochoir is a stencil-based technique popular in Paris from the late nineteenth century through the 1930s and was used by Picasso, Matisse, and Sonya Dulaney. Roy has shown these prints in Amsterdam in 2018 and London in 2019. Locally, they were shown in four annual print shows at Gallery 925.